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' UNITED STATES 1' PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE W. MAUK, OF- WILLIAM-SBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Pate nt N0. 501, 8 01',.dated July 18, 1893. Application filed June 16, 1892. Serial No. 437,005. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern;

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. MAUK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Williamsburg, in the county of Blair and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact specification, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it relates to understand and construct the same.

This invention relates to improvements in that class of swinging gates which employ an adjustable panel capableof being raised and held at the desired elevation to swing clear or over an embankment of snow, or other matter, that may accumulate in the roadway in the path of the gate; and the objects that I have in view are to providea simple and efficient means for holding the gate at the desired elevation, which can be easily released to allowthe gate to return, byits own weight or gravity, to its normal lowered position, as also to provide a novel form of latch mechanism in which theimpelling spring serves as the means whereby the operator can retract the latch to open the gate.

With these ends in view-myinvention consists in the combination with the vertical stiles and the horizontal bars pivotally conof the tooth bar connected to the gate,whereby the gate can be raised or lowered at its free end and the links and pawl hold the inclined and slide bars to their proper positions so that the gate is free to swing on its hinges either when raised to an inclined position or when lowered to its horizontal position.

My invention further consists in the combination and construction of parts as will be hereinafter more fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

I have illustrated the preferred embodiment of my invention in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 isa side elevation of the gate in ponding parts in all the figures of its raised position. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail view, partlyin section, of the means employed for holding the front end of the gate at the desired elevation. Fig. 3 is adetail view of the latch and its impelling spring.

Like numerals of reference denote corresthe drawings, referring to which 1 designates the hinge post, and 2 is the latch post. face provided with a vertical groove 3 forming the keeper for the end of the latch bar and this latch post has its sides beveled or inclined at 4 on opposite sides of the slot to enable the latch to readily pass the angles or corners of the post when the gate is closed from either direction. v

The gate consists of the rear stile, 5, the front stile, 6, the middle stile, 7, and the horizontal or longitudinal bars 8. Each of the stiles consists of a pair of bars between which the longitudinal bars are fitted and pivoted by suitable transverse bolts or screws, and the rear stile 5 of the gate issomewhat higher than the front andmiddle stiles so that the gate can be hinged to the post 1 to swing easily in both directions.

The latch bar 8' is fitted between the front and middle stiles of the gate so as to be guided thereby, and this latch bar rests upon one of the longitudinal bars of the gate so as to slide freely easily back and forth there- 5 011. ;at its heel, as at 10, and through the slot f'passes a pin or stop 11 which is fixed to the middle stile so as to limit the play of the latch This latch bar is slotted longitudinally bar and prevent it from becoming detached.

:Said latch bar is normally projected beyond the free end of the gate, or its front stile, by

means of a spring 12, more clearly shown by Fig. 3 of the drawings. This spring is constructed of a single piece of metal 'or wire,- and one end of the spring is coiled as at 13 and the other end of the spring is extended to form the long arm 14. The coiled end of thespring is rigidly attached to one of the longitudinal bars of the gate in any suitable manner, and the long extended arm 14: is attached'to the latch bar at an intermediate point'of its length by means of the staple or loop 15, the upper extremity of said spring arml being free so that it can be graspe by hand to retract the latch.

The latch post 2 has its inner 7 and between its rear and middle stiles, and

the lower ends of these bars are pivotally connected, at 17, to the lower inner corner of the gate. Beneath one of the upper barsof the gate I provide a slide-bar 18 which plays freely between the parts of the middle stile of the gate, and to this slide-bar are pivotally connected the upper ends of the inclined bars 16. This slide bar is provided with a number of transverse apertures 18', and the inclined bars are pivotally connected to the slide bar by means of a pivot bolt 19 which passes through one of the apertures in the slide bar, but the point of connection between the inclined and slide bars can be varied by removing the bolt and fitting the same in another bolt-hole in the slide bar.

' To the upper part of the long rear gate stile is pivotally connected one end of a ratchet bar 20, the upper side of which is made smooth or plain while on the lower side is formed a series of ratchet teeth. On this ratchet bar is fitted a slide 21 which is made approximately U-shaped in cross section,but I the particular shape is not material. This slide is constructed to straddle the ratchet bar. and to move freely back and forth thereon, and to the slide are attached the links 22 which extend to and are connected with the slide-bar or the inclined bars. I preferably make the links and the slide in one piece of metal, and the links are attached to the slide bar by means of the same pivot bolt that connects the inclined bars and the slide-bar together, but this particular construction is not material as the links can be made separate from the slide and suitably attached thereto, and the linkscan be attached to either the slide bar or the inclined bars by a bolt separate from the pivot bolt that connects the inclined and slide bars. This slide 21 carries a pawl 23, the latter being pivotedat an intermediate point of its length in the slide, and one end of this pawl is adapted to engage with one of the series of ratchet teeth in the ratchet bar 20 of the gate while the other end of the pawl is free and projected beyond the slide so that the pawl can be easily manipulated to release its no'se from engagement with the ratchet teeth, thereby allowing the gate to drop or return by its own weight to its normal horizontal position.

The operation is as follows: The gate is adapted to swing freely on its hinge connection with the post 1, in either direction, and Y .ward sufficiently to clear the post 2; and

when the arm 14 is released the spring impels the latch bar so that its forward end projects beyond the front stile. When the gate is swung to, the free end of the latch bar strikes one of the beveled sides of the post and the latch bar is thus forced back sufliciently for the gate to pass into alignment with the post 2 and the latch is impelled by the spring into the slot or keeper in the post. free end of the gate sufficiently to clear a bank of snow in the path of the gate, it is only necessary to lift the front end of the gate which causes the slide bar-to move to- ;ward the rear stile and the links and slide j move rearwardly upon the ratchet bar toward said rear stile, carrying the pawl with the i slide.

This pawl drops by gravity into one of the teeth of the ratchet bar when the gate is released, so that the ratchet bar, the links, the slide bar, and the inclined bars sustain flthe gate in its raised position.

To lower the ing the slide and links down on theratchet Q bar.

I am aware that changes in the form and proportion'of parts and details of construction of the devices herein shown and described as an embodiment of my invention can be :made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing the advantages thereof, and I therefore reserve the right to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the scope of the same.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a pivoted gate To raise the panel, the inclined bar, and a horizontal slide 'bar, of a ratchet carried by the gate, and a slide connected with the slide and inclined GEORGE W. MAUK.

Witnesses:

J. HOOKER ROLLER, HOMER H. HEWITT. 

